0
Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Usage

Dear Ed(itor) vs. dear Sir

Our German Grammar School students did their English finals yesterday, in the course of which they had to write a letter to a newspaper editor. Since the students came up with different ways of addressing the editor I would like to put the questions to you native speakers out there: Is it commonly accepted that you only address the editor as "Dear Ed" or Dear Dditor or would it also be acceptable to use "Dear Dir" or even "Dear Mr Brown" which to my mind is very unusual indeed.
Thanks for your help.
  

Top answer

[nq:1]Our German Grammar School students did their English finals yesterday, in the course of which they had to write a ... use "Dear Dir" or even "Dear Mr Brown" which to my mind is very unusual indeed. [/nq] The common form in British national newspapers is simply 'Sir'.

— Usenet

  • [nq:1]Our German Grammar School students did their English finals yesterday, in the course of which they had to write a ...
  • use "Dear Dir" or even "Dear Mr Brown" which to my mind is very unusual indeed.
  • [/nq] The common form in British national newspapers is simply 'Sir'.
  • It often seems excessively stiff, and many less formal papers, particulary local papers, have 'Dear Sir'.
  • Addressing the editor by name (Dear Mr.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

10 Answers
0
[nq:1]Our German Grammar School students did their English finals yesterday, in the course of which they had to write a ... use "Dear Dir" or even "Dear Mr Brown" which to my mind is very unusual indeed. Thanks for your help.[/nq]
The common form in British national newspapers is simply 'Sir'.

It often seems excessively stiff, and many less formal papers, particulary local papers, hav
0
0
[nq:2]Our German Grammar School students did their English finals yesterday, ... my mind is very unusual indeed. Thanks for your help.[/nq]
[nq:1]The common form in British national newspapers is simply 'Sir'. It often seems excessively stiff, and many less formal papers, ... writer. I have seen publications use 'Dear Ed' as a comic abbreviation of 'Dear Editor', but it is not normal.[/nq]
0
0
[nq:2]Our German Grammar School students did their English finals yesterday, ... my mind is very unusual indeed. Thanks for your help.[/nq]
[nq:1]The common form in British national newspapers is simply 'Sir'. It often seems excessively stiff, and many less formal papers, ... writer. I have seen publications use 'Dear Ed' as a comic abbreviation of 'Dear Editor', but it is not normal.[/nq]
0
0
[nq:2]The common form in British national newspapers is simply 'Sir'.Thanks heaps! This has been an education![/nq]
Cheers
Alfred
0
0
[nq:1]The common form in British national newspapers is simply 'Sir'. It often seems excessively stiff, and many less formal papers, ... to avoid. I suspect, in fact, that the published form does not necessarily represent the salutation used by the writer.[/nq]
That is my experience. In the past I had a number of letters published in The Times. I always used "Dear Sir" which then appeared in p
0
0
[nq:2]The common form in British national newspapers is simply 'Sir'. ... comic abbreviation of 'Dear Editor', but it is not normal.[/nq]
[nq:1]It doesn't make any difference in our newspaper. The letters to the editor do not show a salutation line. ... to print, is not an editor at all. Probably an editorial assistant that is not even listed on the masthead.[/nq]
Major British newspapers
0
0
[nq:1]It doesn't make any difference in our newspaper. The letters to the editor do not show a salutation line. Since the newspaper here is owned by the Chicago Tribune Corporation, I assume that's the style for all Trib-owned papers.[/nq]
I only rarely read the newspaper we have a subscription to, but I have never seen a salutation line in any of the letters to the editor published daily in t
0
0
[nq:1]The Times, not unusually, is an exception and prints letters headed "Sir, ..."[/nq]
No. Other national papers do that, too, at least in the 'quality' range. Where The Time is an exception is in the heading it gives to each letter, announcing who it is from before the text of the letter.

TSH
For email, replace 'SpamOnlyToHere' with my initials

Thinking of converting
0
0
[nq:2]The Times, not unusually, is an exception and prints letters headed "Sir, ..."[/nq]
[nq:1]No. Other national papers do that, too, at least in the 'quality' range.[/nq]
Which ones? I know the Guardian doesn't.

John Dean
Oxford
0
0
[nq:2]No. Other national papers do that, too, at least in the 'quality' range.[/nq]
[nq:1]Which ones? I know the Guardian doesn't.[/nq]
You are right; I was surprised to see that. The Independent does. I can't say for certain about the Daily Telegraph, but I think it does. Who knows about the FT or the Morning Star?

TSH
For email, replace 'SpamOnlyToHere' with my initials
0

Related Questions